Adventures of Gus and Kim: Gatlinburg 2012 - Where to Eat!

August 30, 2012

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One of our favorite things to do in Gatlinburg - EAT!! There are some great restaurants - we have old favorites, but we always try to eat at a few new places as well.

Our first night there, we were tired, so we just walked up the street from our condo to the Smoky Mountain Brewery (1004 Parkway between traffic lights #8-9). We've eaten there a few times, and the food has been consistently good. The burgers and pizza are always good choices - but the mac & cheese is superb!! Soooo much cheesy goodness in a little white bowl. We almost passed on the Heath cheesecake (Gus isn't a chocolate fan and I'm not a cheesecake fan), but decided to give it a try. Oh My. Heath Bar. Love. Delicioso!!!

For breakfast one day, we decided to try a new place - the Little House of Pancakes on 321 (807 East Parkway). We had a coupon from restaurant.com, but even without it, the total bill would've been extremely reasonable. Don't expect anything new and fancy. It's really just a glorified Waffle House (and not all that glorified, LOL) - but it was clean, the service was good, and the food was tasty. The diced potatoes were the best I've ever had - no grease, and they were sort of crunchy on the outside, but soft & fluffy on the inside. I couldn't detect any seasoning other than a bit of salt - but they were sooooo good! The Belgian waffles were also delicious. (Better than First Watch - and I love First Watch!)

For dinner one night, we decided to try Calhoun's (which is part of the same restaurant group as the Smoky Mountain Brewery and happens to sit directly in front of it at 1004 Parkway). A friend recommended the restaurant for the steaks, so I had the filet, and Gus had the Ale Steak (marinated in olive oil, mustard, garlic and their Cherokee Red Ale). Very, very good! The mac & cheese wasn't nearly as good as Smoky Mountain Brewery's - but the mashed potatoes were divine. We shared a brownie for dessert - not bad & so big that we couldn't eat it all!

This last place is a tradition with us. The first time we ate at the Log Cabin Pancake House in Pigeon Forge was 24 years ago on our honeymoon. We've eaten there on every visit since then as well. I think the only thing that has changed is the sign and the seating. They used to just have diner tables, but now they have a few upholstered booths as well as tables. I'm pretty sure that even the menu is the same. And so are the waitresses! There is also one located in Gatlinburg - it's larger and in a log cabin - but the Pigeon Forge one is our sentimental favorite. I recommend the pancakes. But seriously - what is up with all that butter? Does anyone really use that much? Yikes! (Update: I'm so sad! The Log Cabin Pancake House in Pigeon Forge is now closed. But the one in Gatlinburg (located at 327 Historic Nature Trail) is still open!)

Tomorrow, I'll share the last of the pictures - the "wilderness" ones, as Lulu would say...she asked us to bring her a t-shirt - "but not one with wilderness stuff on it". Um, yeah. Do you guys have any idea how difficult it is to find a t-shirt without "wilderness" stuff on it in G'burg??